Today in Texas History: French Expedition Fizzles in El Paso
The expedition was organized by fraudulent promoter Parker H. French in New York. French promised “fast and safe” passage to the California gold fields for $250 a passenger
This Day in Texas History: Spanish Regulations Changes Frontier Line
This Day in Texas History: September 10th, 1772: Spanish Regulations Changes Frontier Line in Texas On this day in 1772, the New Regulations for Presidios were formally issued by King Charles III of Spain. They changed the settlement pattern of Texas. Since Spain had acquired the Louisiana Territory from France near the conclusion of the…
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This Day in Texas History: Crone Furr Dies in Amarillo
This Day in Texas History: Crone Furr Dies in Amarillo October 30, 1946 On this day in 1946, Crone Webster Furr, food merchant, died in Amarillo. Starting with a small crossroads grocery store near McKinney, Crone Furr and his family controlled, at the time of his death, a chain of forty-three supermarkets in an area…
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This Day in Texas History: On Texas Soil, Presidents Meet for the First Time
This Day in Texas History: On Texas Soil, Presidents Meet for the First Time October 16, 1909 On this day in 1909, presidents William Howard Taft and Porfirio Díaz met in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, the first meeting in history between a president of the United States and a president of Mexico. The local…
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This Day in Texas History: Salt War Turns Bloody
This Day in Texas History: Salt War Turns Bloody October 10, 1877 On this day in 1877, Charles H. Howard shot and killed Louis Cardis in a store in El Paso. The killing was merely the latest, though hardly the last, violent episode in a long dispute known as the Salt War of San Elizario.…
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This Day in Texas History: Failed Assassination Attempt in El Paso
This Day in Texas History: Failed Assassination Attempt in El Paso April 17, 1881 On this day in 1881, Dallas Stoudenmire survived an assassination attempt by former city marshall Bill Johnston by shooting him down in the city streets. Dallas Stoudenmire (1845–1882), gunfighter-cum-lawman, was born on December 11, 1845, in Aberfoil, Macon County, Alabama, to…
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This Day in Texas History: John Selman Kills John Wesley Hardin
This Day in Texas History: John Selman Kills John Wesley Hardin August 19, 1895 On this day in 1895, Constable John Selman killed the notorious John Wesley Hardin in a gunfight at El Paso’s Acme Saloon. Hardin was born in 1853 in Bonham and revealed a violent personality at an early age. In 1867 he…
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This Day in Texas History: Marshal Guns Down Notorious Outlaw / Lawman
This Day in Texas History: Marshal Guns Down Notorious Outlaw / Lawman April 05, 1896 On this day in 1896, in El Paso, U.S. deputy marshal George A. Scarborough shot constable John Selman, a celebrated gunman and gambler who had just left the Wigwam Saloon. Selman died the next day on the operating table. Scarborough…
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This Day in Texas History: Dallas Tornado Outbreak Devastates Oak Cliff
This Day in Texas History: (from Wikipedia) Dallas Tornado Outbreak Devastates Oak Cliff April 2, 1957 On April 2, a low pressure system was situated over the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles with a warm front stretching into central Arkansas and a cold front stretching into western Texas east of El Paso, Lubbock, and Amarillo. Temperatures on that day reached the 70s in northern Texas with dewpoints in the upper 60s to near 70…
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This Day in Texas History: First Train Crosses the Pecos High Bridge
This Day in Texas History: First Train Crosses the Pecos High Bridge March 30, 1892 On March 30, 1892, The first train to cross the Pecos High Bridge was a Special carrying C. P. Huntington, president of the Southern Pacific. Trains on the Sunset Route of the Southern Pacific lines have crossed the Pecos River…
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